PB teenager drowns in Lake Ouachita

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Department is continuing its investigation into the apparent drowning of a Pine Bluff teenager.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department is continuing its investigation into the apparent drowning of a Pine Bluff teenager.

R. J. Hamilton, 16, was found in Lake Ouachita in the Joplin Camping area on July 25 and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Montgomery County Coroner.

According to a news release from the sheriff’s office, the initial call came in at 6:37 a.m., and sheriff’s deputies, Joplin, Mo., first responders, Southwest Emergency Medical Services and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers responded to the scene where they found the body floating in the lake.

The release said Hamilton was camping with his family from Pine Bluff at the time.

The sheriff’s office at Mount Ida said Monday no additional information was available on the investigation.

Graveside services for Hamilton will be at 11 a.m. today in Flynn Cemetery near Humphrey by Ralph Robinson & Son.